One of the 12 tribes of Israel. Issachar was the son of Jacob and Leah

Biblical Hebrew name meaning "hireling"

At least since the first decade of the 18th century, animal names which had not been used as given names in Biblical times (most of them being the names of large predators) are evident among the East European Yiddish-speaking Jewish communities. Issachar is rendered as Baer / Ber which is translated back into Dov.

Typically, bi-lingual names were used, the animal name appearing first in Hebrew (the Holy Language for these communities), often as companion name to the name of one of the Twelve Tribes, followed by the corresponding name (that is, having the same meaning) in Yiddish (the vernacular of daily life).